The Drabbles of Annabeth
by KHLostEmpress
Summary: This is sort of a collection of one-shot like chapters that show one scene from each of the books from Annabeth's perspective. There is definite Percabeth as it is from the canon of the books.
1. The Lightning Thief

_Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians_

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Scene: End of Chapter Six: "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom" from _PJATO: The Lightning Thief_

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I was not impressed with Percy Jackson.

There was usually always the same questions from every new camper. There was usually the same disbelief that one of their parents was not human. But Percy Jackson…well, Percy Jackson was just being _stupid!_

As I dragged him away from the Hermes cabin, I said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that." I was trying to be helpful. Trying to get him to realize that if he wouldn't ask these _stupid_ questions, maybe he wouldn't embarrass himself so much.

"What?" he asked, as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

So I do the only reasonable thing I can think of at that moment. I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "I can't believe I thought you were the one." I really did, too. When he came stumbling into camp, with Grover under one arm and the Minotaur horn in the other, I truly thought he could be the one who would _finally_ get me on a quest (more so due to the horn than Grover). I even helped to nurse him back to health, hoping he would be the one I was waiting for all this time. Now I wasn't so sure.

He started to get angry then, even though I don't know why. Honestly, all I did was offer some friendly advice. He didn't seem to get how much _anyone_ would have loved to have had his chance at the Minotaur, so I deemed it my responsibility to set him straight. When he didn't believe me that we're talking about _the_ Minotaur, I once again had to set him straight. I spent the next few minutes explaining everything to him, which took longer than usual with other new campers until the subject of parents came up.

"You don't just choose a cabin, Percy," I explained, mortified that he could think he could just go and sleep in _any_ cabin he felt like. "It depends on who your parents are. Or…your parent," I corrected myself automatically. I stared at him, thinking that he would get this. It was a no-brainer, since I practically spelled it out for him.

"My mom is Sally Jackson," he said, slowly and finished off by explaining where she worked.

I felt bad for him a little, since she was just killed. She sounded like a nice woman. Because of this, I withheld my inclination to sigh at him and his thick-headedness. "I'm sorry about your mom, Percy," I said sincerely. "But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."

His reply was instantaneous. "He's dead. I never knew him."

He seemed pretty adamant about it, so this time I did sigh at him. I've had this conversation before with other new campers, but none of them made me as exasperated as Percy Jackson. "Your father's not dead, Percy," I explained painstakingly.

"How can you say that? You know him?"

"No, of course not," I replied. My patience was wearing thinner by the minute with this kid. Either he was in denial about who he was or he was the _stupidest_ boy on the earth.

"Then how can you say—"

"Because I know _you_. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't know anything about me."

Stupid _stubborn_ boy. I bulldozed over him and any of his protests, while I explain to him, just how fully how much I knew about him. Because in those ways, with the dyslexia and the ADHD, we had something in common. I firmly believed the similarities stopped there. A child of Athena would have never taken this long to figure it out. "Face it," I said, finishing. "You're a half-blood."

At which point, Percy just gave me a stupid, stunned, deer-in-the-headlights look. I was about to try and bring him back to earth when a most unpleasant voice reached my ears.

"Well! A newbie!"

"Clarisse," I said with a sigh, resigned that I had to deal with her. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

We argued about the game on Friday, which I had hoped would be enough to get her attention off Percy. He certainly didn't need to deal with her on his first (conscious anyway) day at camp. But her attention was not diverted and I ended up introducing her to Percy. He questioned the daughter of Ares part, which made me wonder _again_ if there was _any_ scrap of intelligence in that brain of his, but he seemed to recover a bit and even managed a jab at Clarisse. I privately smirked at this and thought that maybe the boy wasn't _completely_ hopeless after all.

But when Clarisse mentioned the "initiation for newbies", I knew I had to try and stop it. "Clarisse—" I tried to say, warning her to back off, but she wasn't having it.

"Stay out of it, wise girl."

I pursed my lips. I _hated_ when she called me that. My eyes flicked to the four Ares girls. If it had just been Clarisse, I probably would have tried to take her, but four-against-one was a bit more than I could have probably handled. Percy surprised me by handing me the horn. I looked at his face, which had determination plastered all over it. I almost smiled. Not hopeless, indeed.

I followed them to the bathroom, wanting to support him and looking for a chance to perhaps rescue him. I stood in the corner of the bathroom and put my face in my hands, resigned that I was going to let this happen. I peeked through my fingers, determined that I _would_ jump in if Clarisse truly tried to harm Percy in any way.

I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The next thing I knew, the toilet water was blasting around, taking out Clarisse and her gang. I didn't seem to get spared either, as I got soaking wet, but at least I wasn't flushed out of the bathroom like the other girls. Once the water settled and stopped, I looked over to where Percy was and saw that he was sitting on the floor, completely dry. In fact, there was a complete circle around him that wasn't wet at all. That didn't make sense, as he was as close to the exploding water as Clarisse had been. He stood up and I could tell that he was shaking a little.

"How did you…" I trailed off, for once at a loss for words to explain what had just happened.

"I don't know," he said, simply.

I didn't know whether to believe him or not. We went out to look at Clarisse, who looked like a mess. I knew Percy had made a life-long enemy with the look she was giving him. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."

"You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."

I wanted to laugh, but restrained myself as Clarisse was dragged away. I kept my face blank as I stared at Percy with an idea curling into my brain. The idea turned into a strategy. After a long few seconds, Percy demanded, "What? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I want you on my team for capture the flag," I said honestly. He didn't seem to understand, but I didn't explain further as I went to show him the rest of the camp.

Maybe, just a little bit, I was impressed with Percy Jackson.


	2. The Sea of Monsters

Scene: Chapter Twelve: "We Check in to C.C.'s Spa & Resort" from _PJATO: The Sea of Monsters_

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I would not associate the word "cute" with Percy Jackson.

Not to say that he was completely unattractive, especially since he's grown a few inches in the last year, though neither of us were looking our best at the moment given he had just come from an exploding ship and sea-faring didn't seem to agree with me in any way. But "cute" was not something I would use to describe him, the same way I wouldn't use it to describe a sword or a monument. Breathtaking, beautiful, radiant, and glorious was more like it. And I'm talking about a monument, not Percy.

So, when we landed at the spa, the whole idea of relaxing and getting _clean_ sounded too good to be true. I really should have known better.

Usually, I always expect a trap, but when the lady never turned into a monster, I'll admit that I relaxed my guard just a bit. Even though I was a daughter of Athena, I was a tired, dirty, hungry, and just an extremely _gross_ feeling daughter of Athena and right then that herbal wrap (whatever that was) sounded perfect to me. I glanced at Percy and could tell that he was taken in as well, probably at the mention of the luau and, therefore, food. I muttered, "I guess it couldn't hurt."

The place was so beautiful. I could spend days here, taking notes and drawing pictures of all the terraces and fountains, for future reference in building my monument some day. We finally reached the main building which was just as beautiful as the rest of it, but when I saw the tapestry that the woman was weaving, my breath caught in my throat. "It's beautiful," I exclaimed.

When she first mentioned problems with my looks, particularly my hair, I was hurt. I had never thought myself as ugly before. But then she talked about my potential, and I began to believe that she could make me beautiful. Not that I had anyone in particular I wanted to impress or anything. "But…what about Percy?" I finally managed to ask, concerned about the Seaweed Brain.

C.C. assured me he would be fine, so I allowed myself to be led away by Hylla deeper into the spa. She showed me everything. They washed my hair and braided it with gold. They put me in this silky white sleeveless dress that made me slightly uncomfortable, because I was aware that it wouldn't be easy to fight in, but all the workers were assuring me that it looked wonderful on me. When they brought out the makeup, I cringed since I had never worn it before. I really didn't see the point in it, despite what Silena kept telling me. "I'm not sure—" I began to say, but they cut off my protests. They told me they would just put a little bit on to "enhance your natural beauty". I still didn't like the thought of it that much, but I allowed them to put it on me.

Once we were finished, Hylla led me through the rest of the resort. Everything was beautiful and stunning, but my favorite room was the library, which was just absolutely breathtaking. There were shelves upon shelves, volumes upon volumes spreading around me. I raced to the nearest bookcase and slid my fingers along the books. Hylla chuckled behind me; it sounded satisfied for some reason, which I thought was strange for a moment until I found a book in Ancient Greek about architecture.

I found myself absorbed in the book. I don't know how much time passed until Percy crossed my mind briefly. I, reluctantly, looked up from my book and glanced around. Hylla was gone. I slipped out of the library, glancing back, wondering if I should leave. But I was worried about Percy; the Seaweed Brain could get into so much trouble when I wasn't watching him.

I made my way back to the main house, where I called out, "Miss C.C.?" She was standing next to her loom, but when I looked around, I didn't see any sign of Percy. "Where's Percy?" I asked.

As we talked, a suspicion began to form in my mind. A suspicion that made me _very_ worried. It suddenly clicked in my head. "Circe!" Oh, dear. _Percy!_ I backed up away from the sorceress, who assured me she meant no harm. I knew that was somewhat true, because I was a girl. But, Percy on the other hand… "What have you done to Percy?"

"Only helped him to realize his true form."

I scanned the room and, when my eyes fell upon the cage, my eyes went wide as I watched the tiny orange and white guinea pig scratching at the cage with the other guinea pigs around it. Percy was certainly infuriating at some times, but that didn't mean I wanted him turned into a _guinea pig_.

Circe continued to talk, offering what she thought was all I ever wanted. Not that I didn't want to be wise and powerful, but becoming so while little kindergarteners tortured Percy was not what I wanted. I stared at the guinea pigs and I could feel a dreamy look come over my face; I knew I couldn't leave him here. He may be a Seaweed Brain, but he was _my_ Seaweed Brain.

"Let me think about it," I murmured, hoping I was giving the impression that I was giving in. "Just…give me a minute alone. To say good-bye."

Circe left and I rushed over to the cages. I had thought the orange and white one was Percy, but when I asked which one was him, they all started squealing. I frowned and started to worry how I was going to pick which one to take. I looked around the room again and spotted jeans sticking out from underneath Circe's loom. Hoping they were Percy's and that he still had the Hermes multivitamins, I ran over to them and rummaged through the pockets. I opened the cap and hoped that my plan worked. I pulled out the yellow Minotaur-shaped one and popped it into my mouth.

When Circe came back, I was delighted to find that I was indeed immune to magic as I thought I would be. I fought her off, gave her a sporting chance to turn Percy back, then dragged Circe over to the cage and dumped the vitamins in. I hoped they would reverse the magic, which they did (also making the men fully clothed, thank the gods). I smiled as the pirates chased the witch and her attendants out.

Then I turned and glared at Percy after sheathing my knife.

"Thanks…" he said in a faltering voice. "I'm really sorry—"

Instead of letting him stumble around an apology, I just tackled him with a hug, just for a moment. "I'm glad you're not a guinea pig," I said in a rush.

"Me, too," he said. His face was beet red, but I choose not to comment and just undid the ridiculous gold braids in my hair.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," I said. "We have to get away while Circe's distracted."

We escaped using Blackbeard's ship (I was rather impressed at Percy's ability to man the ship; I guess he can be quite handy sometimes).

As we sailed away, I smiled when I thought about Percy as that white and orange guinea pig. "What?" Percy asked. I just shook my head. He muttered something (he should be grateful I didn't hear what it was).

Maybe, just a little bit, I could associate the word "cute" with Percy Jackson.


	3. The Titan's Curse

Scene: Chapter Seventeen: "I Put on a Few Million Extra Pounds" from _PJATO: The Titan's Curse_

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I was not happy with Percy Jackson.

I guess I was grateful that he came to rescue me. There's no arguing that I didn't really want to die, so when a rescue came, I wasn't really about to complain exactly. But the Seaweed Brain should have realized it was most definitely a trap. I would have seen it. Then again, he probably did know, but he came anyway. I guess I knew that he would.

But I would not be happy with him if he died trying to save me. So when they arrived and Percy looked at me, I tried to get across that they should run and leave me. Thalia, Zoe, and Percy had a nice chat with Atlas and Luke, trying to get them to set me and Artemis free, but then Luke revealed his army marching up the side of the mountain, and my heart fell just a little.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

I knew he was trying to get Thalia to join them, and I knew it was the wrong thing to do, despite the fact that I still believed that I could save Luke somehow. Thalia hesitated and the pain in her eyes was plain to see. I wondered, for just a moment, if she would actually join the other side, but she lifted her spear and said, "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

I winced just slightly. It was true that he was different, but I wanted to believe that some part of the old Luke was still in there somewhere.

"Yes, you do, Thalia. Please. Don't make me…Don't make _him_ destroy you."

But we were out of time. Despite the fact that I wanted to save Luke, I knew the army of monsters was coming closer. Percy must have realized the same thing because I saw it in his eyes. I nodded at him, telling him I was ready to fight with them.

The three of them charged at Percy's signal. Thalia went for Luke. Percy went for Atlas, the stupid Seaweed Brain. He should have at least waited until I got free of my chains and could back him up. I went straight for the bindings on my hands, desperate to free myself so that I could help my friends. I glanced up and my heart stopped.

I could only watch in horror as Percy faltered and Atlas's javelin caught him in the chest and flung him to where Artemis was holding up the sky.

I attacked my bindings with new vigor. I had to get free. I had to help Percy. I couldn't let him die.

"Die, little hero." I looked up again when I heard his words. I felt ice trail through my body as Atlas raised his javelin to stab my Seaweed Brain, but Zoe yelled and silver arrows seemed to just appear from the armpit chink in his armor. His attention was turned away from Percy to his daughter and I could not help the sigh of relief that breathed through my gagged mouth.

Percy looked like he was talking to Artemis, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. But I had an idea. I remembered the pain I felt holding up the sky. I didn't want Percy to have to go through that too, but I could see the wisdom in his plan. Artemis would have a better chance against the Titan than any half-blood. Artemis hesitated, probably not wishing to put the burden on him when he could very well die. Stubborn boy as he was, he stood up and braced himself to take the sky.

Artemis raced into action, but all I could watch was the pain on Percy's face. I wanted out of my chains more than ever before. Certainly if I could get out of my chains, I could help him hold the burden. He needed me. He _always_ needed me. It was a miracle he made it this far without me in the first place.

Artemis managed to trick Atlas back into his burden, slamming Percy out of the way. For a second, he just laid there and I feared that the burden had been too much and he didn't live. But then he tried to stand. He failed, but at least I knew he was okay. I remembered soon after Artemis took the sky from me that I couldn't do anything for awhile, so great was the pain.

My attention was briefly taken away from Percy as I finally managed to wrangle my way out of my bindings. I looked up to where Thalia had Luke up against the cliff with her spear to his throat. She was shaking with fury and I was afraid that she would kill him while she was so mad at him. I scrambled to my feet and ran over to them crying, "Don't kill him!"

"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"

"We'll bring Luke back," I pleaded with Thalia, desperate for her to see that we could still save him. That it wasn't too late for our old friend. "To Olympus. He…he'll be useful."

But Luke taunted her and made a grab for her spear. She acted instinctively, I know, when she kicked him off the cliff. "Luke!" I screamed. I couldn't believe it as I watched him sail over the edge, falling over to what would probably be his death.

I raced to the side of the cliff. I was vaguely aware that Percy came up with me. I was glad he was okay, really I was. But at the moment I was too grieved about Luke, staring down at his broken form. He couldn't be dead. I _wouldn't_ believe that he was dead.

We didn't have much time to stay as the monsters reminded us that they were not far behind. We went to Artemis, who was holding the dying form of Zoe in her arms. I knew there was nothing we could do. There was probably no way for us to get off this rock either. Just as the monsters came over the rise, a Sopwith Camel swooped down from the sky and began shooting the monsters.

"Get away from my daughter!"

"Dad?" I asked staring at the plane in disbelief. I couldn't believe it. As the monsters dispersed into smoke and ash, I knew the bullets had to be made of celestial bronze, but I didn't know how he had gotten hold of some. Artemis summoned her chariot, and I helped Thalia get onboard. Percy helped Artemis with Zoe, but I saw the pain that still lingered in his eyes.

"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," he murmured dazedly as we sped away into the air.

I couldn't help the smile that curled at the edge of my lips at his words. Artemis answered him, but my focus was on him. He had a streak of gray in his hair now, just like me, from holding up the sky. I felt a warm rush flow through me as I realized this. We were connected now, more than ever before. It had been neither perfect nor well thought out. But still my Seaweed Brain had come to rescue me, because I knew without a doubt that he had come to save _me_. Not Artemis, but me. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about it.

Maybe, just a little bit, I was happy with Percy Jackson.


	4. The Battle of the Labyrinth

Scene: Chapter Twelve: "I Take a Permanent Vacation" from _PJATO: The Battle of the Labyrinth_

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I was not in love with Percy Jackson.

That was _not_ the reason I kissed him before I left him in that volcano. It was impulsive really more than anything else. I had the thought that he really could die this time; that he might not come back to me. I could see it in his eyes that he thought it too, despite his words of reassurance. And I knew that I would regret not telling him that I liked him. Emphasis on the _liked_.

_Be careful, Seaweed Brain._

My words haunted me now, so long after I walked away from him without a word from him. When I saw the footage of what had happened at the mountain, I was awed that Percy could have caused such a large explosion. There was so much power involved in that, but it was quickly overridden by the sight of the destruction that it caused. There was that nagging doubt that no one could have survived something like that, but I didn't want to believe that he was gone.

But the days continued without any sign that Percy was anywhere. Two weeks passed and Chiron came up to me and gently told me that it was time that we burned his shroud. I wanted to rant and rave and tell him that we had to wait longer, that Percy would come back to me. But the two weeks without a word had worn me down. Worn me down into resentful acceptance. I insisted on making the shroud myself, without help from anyone.

My fingers worked tirelessly all day, embroidering the silver trident onto the green silk cloth. I knew that I had to do this. I couldn't let anyone else help me. This was my responsibility. He died to save me. The stupid Seaweed Brain.

The tears began silently. I let them trail down my cheeks, not stopping my work. Finally, the trident flared across the green, finished. I lifted it to see it better. His eyes had been green. But not green like this. His eyes had been green as the sea, bursting with life. Not this green. This green spoke of death.

I collapsed onto myself as sobs began to rack my body. How could my Seaweed Brain be gone? How could Chiron decide to have burial shroud burned? I cried myself into exhaustion and the next thing I knew, Chiron was clopping at the door of my cabin, telling me it was time.

I gingerly picked up the shroud. I gave a brief glance to the mirror, noting vaguely that my eyes were red and puffy. But I followed Chiron in silence to the amphitheater, where the fire was already started and the camp was already gathered. Chiron and I went to the center, since Tyson was not here and there was no one but me to burn the shroud.

Chiron faced the campers. "We have to assume he is dead," he said. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best friend to do the final honors."

I stepped up with the burial cloth, my heart in my throat. It was such a beautiful shroud, but the simple fact that it was _his_ shroud made me hate it more than anything. I set it on the bonfire flames before turning to face the audience. I knew how terrible I looked, but I swallowed my tears and choked out, "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He…" I stopped as my eyes found a figure in the back of the amphitheater. Green eyes were boring into me. There were a lot of things I could have felt. But anger is what mostly surfaced in the forefront of my mind as I felt my face flare. "He's right there!" I called out.

Everyone's heads turned and quite a few people gasped.

"Percy!" Beckendorf was the first to recover from the sight of him. A bunch of other kids crowded around him to clap him on the back. Even Chiron left my side to gallop over to him. A few of the Ares kids cursed.

But I just stood there. That _stupid_ Seaweed Brain. How _dare_ he show up after he made me wait for him without a _single_ indication that he had survived that explosion? I stood fuming in anger for a few seconds until finally the happiness and relief that he was alive finally overcame the anger.

I shoved aside the other campers as I yelled, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" I didn't even care that I had interrupted Chiron. I saw panic flash through his eyes (he probably thought I was going to punch him), but I just threw my arms around him and hugged him. Deep down, I wanted the reassurance that he was really there. The other campers fell silent, which made me realize that I was kind of making a scene, so I pushed him away. "I—we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I got lost."

I couldn't believe he had the nerve to throw that out as an excuse. "LOST?" I yelled, only partially aware that I was losing it again in front of the whole camp. "Two weeks, Percy? Where in the world—"

This time Chiron interrupted me and took us to the Big House. Percy told his story. I read between the lines and guessed where he had ended up. Percy wasn't exactly the best person at trying to hide the truth. I put two and two together and came up with Calypso's Island. But he had come back. He had come back to _me_.

But then, I got annoyed again when he told us his idea. I tried to explain the _million_ reasons why it was a _bad_ idea.

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," he said, _interrupting_ me. "But it's true."

I glared at him, my anger flaring up again. "You are the _single most annoying_ person I have ever met!"

Then I stormed out of the room. I ran back to the cabins, but slowed when I came past Cabin Three. Percy's cabin. I felt tears threatening on the edge of my vision. I was _not _jealous of Calypso or Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I had just gotten him back. But all he wanted was the help of that _stupid_ red-head. My insides tied in knots; I let the admission flit lightly across my brain as I stared at the cabin.

Maybe, just a little bit, I was in love with Percy Jackson.


	5. The Last Olympian

Scene: Chapter Twelve: "Rachel Makes a Bad Deal" from _PJATO: The Last Olympian_

* * *

I would not share everything with Percy Jackson.

Which is the particular reason that we were not going to die here together on this stupid bridge fighting Kronos's army. Dying together would be certainly so very too much cliché. Of course, now that Percy had bathed in the River Styx (really, _what_ was he thinking?), it might just be me dying instead of both of us together.

Quite suddenly, I felt a chill rush through me. I glanced around and saw the knife in the hands of a demigod aiming for Percy's back, where he wouldn't see it to intercept it. Irrationally, the thought _Percy is in danger!_ ran across my brain, though I knew_ without a doubt_ that Percy was now invulnerable and there was no reason to worry. I intercepted the blade with my arm, forgetting that I had a knife of my own in my panic to save Percy, crying out in pain as the blade ripped through the skin. Pain shot through my body; I knew it shouldn't hurt this much.

As I started to phase in and out, I realized that there must have been poison on the blade. "Get back! No one touches her!" I heard Percy yell as the sounds of swords hitting each other floated through my mind. I wanted to tell Percy that he shouldn't tell Kronos his weakness; his fatal flaw.

"Bravely fought, Percy Jackson," I heard Kronos say. "But it's time to surrender…or the girl dies."

"Percy, don't," I groaned out. I wasn't worth the whole of Manhattan, I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't get out anymore words than that.

"Blackjack!"

The next thing I felt was the teeth of Percy's pegasus gripping the straps of my armor and flying me away from the battle. I wanted to protest at first, because I couldn't leave Percy to fight by himself. He got into so much trouble without me to help him. But I was too weak to make any sort of protest. We arrived at The Plaza Hotel, which we had taken for a sort of headquarters. When we landed on the terrace, I remember slightly thinking that the building had some nice architecture.

But then I heard Silena's voice. "Oh, Annabeth!" she called out, when Blackjack sort of unceremoniously dumped me on the ground. Silena pulled me onto a lounge chair and wrapped a bandage around the gash on my arm. She pulled blankets around me as I started to shiver uncontrollably, but I was also sweating. Which meant a fever was coming over me and there was most definitely poison on the blade. Great, now I was going to die on the terrace of the _stupid_ Plaza Hotel, which was certainly worse than dying in the middle of a battle.

"Don't…Percy." I tried to tell Silena not to call Percy because he needed to stay out there and help the battle, not come here and worry over me, watching me die. But I couldn't form the words. She nodded as if she understood as she wiped my forehead with a cool damp cloth, tears flowing down her cheeks.

She stood up and walked to one of the fallen people and pushed around their pockets and pulled out a phone. She stepped out of the room, but not far enough for me not to hear what she said in her shaky voice, "Percy? Plaza Hotel. You'd better come quickly and bring a healer from Apollo's cabin. It's…it's Annabeth."

I don't know how long it took for him to arrive, but there was long minutes of Silena whispering assurances that I was going to be fine while she wiped my forehead. My brothers and sisters arrived and gathered around me, all looking tense with worry.

My eyes were closed, but I knew when he arrived. A certain hush came over the group and somehow, I could feel him standing there. I felt someone unwrapping my bandages, probably the kid from Apollo's cabin.

"Annabeth…" I heard Percy's choked voice come from above me.

I cracked my eyes opened slightly. "Poison on the dagger," I mumbled, explaining why it probably looked so bad. He wouldn't be worried if the wound didn't look terrible. "Pretty stupid of me, eh?" I added, trying to crack a joke so that he wouldn't be so worry.

I heard someone breath out in relief. I looked at the Apollo kid, Will Solace. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

I felt Percy's hand slide into mine as Will began to clean the wound with nectar. It hurt. A lot. "Ow!" I cried out. "Ow, ow!" I remained still, just like Will told me to, but I was pretty sure I was cutting off the circulation in Percy's hand. Will wrapped the wound up when he was done healing it. He sent the Stoll brothers off to get supplies and everyone cleared out to give me space. I heard Jake Mason tell Percy that the enemy withdrew at sunrise, which I was thankful for. At least Percy wouldn't have to choose between staying with me and fighting. Only me, Percy, and Silena were left on the terrace.

Silena convinced Percy to let her go back to camp to try and convince Clarisse to come and help us. I knew that she would have the best chance of anyone to convince her, but I didn't know if it was going to work. Once she left, it was just me and Percy alone. He knelt next to me and placed a hand on my forehead. I still felt feverish, but I wanted to smile at him, because he was just so adorable.

"You're cute when you're worried," I muttered. A brief thought that I normally wouldn't say this if my mind wasn't so hazy flicked across my brain, but I didn't pay it any mind. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched up."

"You are _not_ going to die while I owe you a favor," Percy said. "Why did you take that knife?"

I blinked at the change of subject. "You would've done the same for me," I replied without hesitation, knowing that it was true without a doubt. The only difference now was that it would probably bounce harmlessly off of him, while I end up with a giant gash across my arm.

"How did you know?" he asked quietly.

"Know what?" I asked, completely confused by what he was asking me or if we were even still on the same subject.

He glanced around, probably checking if we were alone, which we were, except for the couple of sleeping people around the terrace. But I don't think they count. He leaned in even closer and whispered, "My Achilles spot. If you hadn't taken that knife, I would've died."

Shock coursed through my body at the fact that my Seaweed Brain hadn't gotten so close to dying, but my thoughts trailed back to the memory of what had happened. "I don't know, Percy. I just had this feeling you were in danger. Where…" I paused wondering if I should ask, but then figured there was no harm in asking. "Where is the spot?"

"The small of my back," he replied without even the slightest hesitation. I felt elation that he would trust me so much that he could tell me at all, let alone so quickly.

I lifted my hand. "Where? Here?" I placed my hand on his spine where I thought the spot might be. The tips of my fingers tingled slightly where our skin touched. He took my hand and guided me to a spot slightly away from where I had my fingers. He seemed to jolt ever so slightly as my fingers stopped. I wondered what it felt like to have someone touch the one spot anchoring you to the world.

He smiled at me. "You saved me," he said. "Thanks."

I let my hand drop from his back, but he still held it in his hand. "So you owe me," I said, smiling weakly at him. "What else is new?"

Our eyes met and that was when I knew. As we turned to watch the sun rise over the eerily quiet city, I let the thought wash over me.

Without a doubt, I would share everything with Percy Jackson.


End file.
